Gulch property draws interest from developers

Jul. 23, 2013

Written by

The Tennessean

The brokers marketing 5.4 acres in the Gulch owned by Gannett Co. Inc. are evaluating a handful of offers from interested developers.

To date, the property along 11th Avenue North that’s largely used as a parking lot for employees of The Tennessean has drawn interest from suitors planning apartments, a hotel, retail use or a mixed-use development, said Steve Preston, a senior vice president with the private capital group at commercial real estate services firm CBRE in Nashville.

“There’s a wide zoning with it, so you can do a lot of different things,” he said, adding that a key requirement from the seller is that whoever purchases the property would be required to provide 450 parking spaces on the site for Gannett employees.

Kevin Huff, The Tennessean’svice president of finance, said Gannett is trying to determine the value of the site and gauge interest, much like the media company has been doing with real estate nationwide.

“The Gulch is a pretty hot market right now,” Huff said. “There’s a lot going on down there. That was kind of behind the idea of putting it out for proposals.”

The site is bounded by 11th Avenue North, the railroad tracks, the Eleven North apartments and an adjacent parking lot across from Kayne Prime restaurant that Gannett sold last year for $1.6 million to a group of local investors. An investment partnership managed by local real estate investor Jim Caden was among interested parties that submitted proposals for the 5.42 acre property by last week’s due date.

The railroad track that runs through the property once delivered newsprint to The Tennessean and is expected to be removed as part of any potential redevelopment.

Among other projects planned nearby, Gulch developer MarketStreet Enterprises is working toward a development that’s expected to include a high-end office building.

Getahn Ward covers growth and development for The Tennessean. Contact him at 615-726-5968 or at gward@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @Getahn.